Beckett pushed back again

Inflammation in elbow cited

Kevin Youkilis tosses his bat after getting thrown off by a pitch in the fifth inning; the first baseman struck out looking. (Frank Gunn/CP/Associated Press)

TORONTO - Having already pushed Josh Beckett back from yesterday's start to Tuesday, the Red Sox again pushed back their ace because of the right hand tingling and numbness that first surfaced a week ago. Beckett, who felt the symptoms again two days ago when he threw for the first time since last Sunday, is now on track to start Friday against the White Sox at Fenway Park.

But there were new developments yesterday, in addition to the change in start date. For the first time, the Sox acknowledged that there is inflammation in Beckett's elbow that has contributed to the tingling and numbness in his hand.

"Got some inflammation, and when you get some tingling, you're looking at the nerve," manager Terry Francona said.

"Beckett went out and threw real well yesterday, was going to do a side today," he said. "John [Farrell] and I, [assistant trainer] Mike Reinold, we were kind of sitting around here talking last night. The more we thought about it, we're thinking, we're trying to do everything in our power to make sure this guy is able to go out and pitch like he can pitch.

"We're probably being overcautious, but when it comes to somebody's arm and their future, I just think we need to do that."

With Tim Wakefield ready to come off the disabled list, plus a day off tomorrow, the Sox have some flexibility. Wakefield will start Tuesday against the Yankees, followed by Paul Byrd Wednesday, and Jon Lester Thursday.

"He wants to pitch," Francona said of Beckett. "I told him, 'We're trying to look out for your best interests.' I think he understands that. In fact, I know he understands that.

"This has been a weird one. He's had these symptoms, and we've been pretty adamant that as long as he has these symptoms, we didn't want him throwing, so we had to kind of shut him down for a couple days."

Doctors have also given Beckett a sleeve - or a cast, as he referred to it - to wear when he sleeps to keep his arm straight. They hope that helps with the symptoms, which partially came back Friday after he threw on flat ground.

Beckett said he thought part of the problem Friday stemmed from the fact that he did no treatment or throwing on Thursday's day off. Because of that, he said he expects to do some work every day between now and his scheduled side session Tuesday.

"It's just my hand and fingers that were really concerning me, obviously coming from the elbow," he said. "I've said all along it's very minimal pain. It's just an uncomfortable feeling not being able to feel a couple of your fingers.

"I think we're going at this the right way. I have to be supportive of it.

"It's the right thing to do."

Aardsma set for DL
David Aardsma will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right groin, the same injury that led to his stint on the DL from July 19 to Aug. 8, and David Pauley will be recalled from Pawtucket today. The move is retroactive to Thursday.

Aardsma threw yesterday but couldn't warm up and hurt the groin, after he already had reinjured it Wednesday in Baltimore (two earned runs, 2/3 inning). Since returning from the DL, Aardsma had allowed eight runs in 3 2/3 innings (19.64 ERA). He will head back to Boston to get an MRI on the groin tomorrow.

"It was getting a lot better, and the other day it jumped back up on me," Aardsma said. "It's the end of my motion, right when I'm trying to explode. The other day it was a lot, today it wasn't as bad, but it was still there. It's a matter of we need somebody up here who can throw. Right now I'm not 100 percent, so I can't help."

Asked if the injury affected his results, Aardsma said, "I don't want to say that at all, by no means. I was able to throw and I was able to throw enough strikes. Definitely I wasn't throwing good strikes, I wasn't throwing the ball right where I wanted to."

MRI for Lugo, too
Julio Lugo, who suffered a setback in his rehab from a torn left quadriceps Wednesday, will return to Boston today and have an MRI tomorrow. He said the injury hasn't gotten worse since Wednesday, but it also hasn't improved. "I don't get frustrated," Lugo said. "It's disappointing." . . . J.D. Drew was again out of the starting lineup with the back spasms that have affected him since last Sunday. Francona said after the game Drew was "pretty sore." . . . Mike Timlin tied Kent Tekulve for seventh all-time in appearances with his 1,050th. "I think it's kind of cool that it was in Toronto where I started, where I had No. 1," Timlin said . . . The Blue Jays sent Friday night's starter, Shaun Marcum, to Triple A yesterday . . . Jason Varitek ended his streak of games with home runs (he'd done it in three straight), going 0 for 2 before being taken out for Kevin Cash. "When he hits, we're a better team," Francona said. "But we can win when he doesn't hit. We've proven that." . . . In addition to his two home runs (one off Lester and one off Chris Smith), Vernon Wells made a Willie Mays-style catch in center field on a ball hit by Jason Bay in the third inning - except he didn't really use his glove. Wells juggled the ball as it came down and ended up with it in his hand for the out.